The establishment of a constitutional regime in Persia was the chief objective of the Revolution of 1323-29/1905-11. Like any other major revolution, the Constitutional Revolution in Persia encompassed a broad spectrum of ideas and objectives, reflecting diverse intellectual trends, social backgrounds, and political demands. At the time even the text of the Constitution itself did not have universal support. Yet, in spite of ideological ambiguities, the Revolution remains an epoch-making episode in the modern history of Persia because of its political achievements and its enduring social and cultural consequences. As a modern revolution, it was aimed at dislodging the old order by means of popular action and by advocacy of the tenets of liberalism, secularism, and nationalism. For the first time in the course of modern Persian history, the revolutionaries sought to replace arbitrary power with law, representative government, and social justice and to resist the encroachment of imperial powers with conscious nationalism, popular activism, and economic independence. Constitutionalists also tried to curb the power of the conservative religious establishment through modern education and judicial reforms. By centralizing the state, they sought to reduce the power of the tribal and urban notables. The greater sense of nationhood that emerged out of the Revolution has remained essential to the modern Persian identity. (read more on Iranica)

A group of constitutionalist
gathered outside British embassy in Tehran

A group of
constitutionalist fighters who captured Tehran from Mohammd Ali Shah.
Seated: Sardar As'ad and Yeprem Khan Davidian

Sardar As'ad II (1856-1917) was an Iranian revolutionary, a leader of BakhtiariHaft Lang tribe, and one of the primary figures of the Persian Constitutional Revolution. In 1909, Bakhtiari tribal forces under his command successfully captured Tehran as part of the revolutionary campaign to force the central government to establish democratic reforms.

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar at the opening of the first Iranian Parliament

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar (23 March 1853 - 3 January 1907) was the fifth Qajar king of Iran. He reigned between the years 1896 and 1907. He is credited with the creation of the Iranian constitution, and often wrongly credited with the rise of the Persian Constitutional Revolution which took place immediately after his death.